After much warning by Oyinda's father against her not carrying on with her lover, Lucky, she, being consumed by the intoxicating allure of love, made a hasty decision that would forever alter her life's course. She absconded with her father's treasured gold handband, a relic steeped in sentimental value. The band's sale yielded millions of Naira, which she eagerly carried to reunite with her fiancé in a distant state, a place where her dad would not reach her.
On the day the 23-year-old Oyinda left, she dropped a heartbreaking note, informing her dad not to seek her out, for she had embarked on a journey to be with her beloved.
"Oyinda!" Her father screamed in shock, hoping it was a prank from her. He held the letter and couldn't believe his eyes. He peaked his phone, dialed her number, and he was welcomed by the auto-reply, "Sorry, the MTN number you're trying to call is not reachable; please try again later. Thank you".
He tried dialing the number multiple times, but no way; the same response kept popping.
He remembered having Lucky's number, where he texted him to warn him to stay off his daughter. He scrolled through the message log, saw the message, copied the number, dialled the number and the same 'not-reachable' reply came out.
He tried all he could to reconnect with his only daughter, but to no avail. Eventually, his pursuit waned, leaving him heartbroken.
However, Oyinda finally settled with Lucky in one of the war buzzing northern cities in Nigeria, where they knew that no one would think of that location when looking for them.
They settled in a VIP apartment in an hotel, where they stay all day without going to work; the only time they go out is whenever they want to get a feel of the environment and squander the endless money on unnecessary items like the latest iPhones in multiple numbers.
On a fateful morning, Oyinda woke up with her eyes so dimmed and swollen as if she had eaten overstarched rice last night. The sun rays beaming from the window were intense, like those of a noon sun. She quickly reached for her phone and was shocked to see #1:53 p.m. displayed on the phone's screen.
"Babe!" She called out to Lucky, expecting a response from either from the parlor, kitchen, or toilet, but nothing came.
"!Babe, where are you?" She got up with a little staggering due to her heavy body, walked to the kitchen, bathroom, and parlor, and there's no one there.
"Where did he go to? He has never left this apartment without me," she pondered while she searched everywhere.
She went back to the room, changed her clothes from pyjamas to a red polo and a short jean, and walked down to the reception hall to make inquiries.
"Hello, good morning" she greeted the receptionist.
"Ma, it's afternoon. Good afternoon, ma."
"Oh, sorry. Did you see my fiance?" She asked.
"Yeah, he walked out this morning with some small luggage, and he's not back yet because I didn't see him pass."
Oyinda's eyes were opened, coupled with a severe cough, for which she used her hands to hold her chest. The receptionist rushed out from the counter and helped her, "Ma, are you alright?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine." She regained herself instantly and rushed back to the apartment. She checked the wardrobe, and none of Lucky's belongings were left. She dialed his phone number, and it was not reachable, with a more heartbreaking response: "Sorry, this number does not exist." Lucky has blocked the number.
She was still trying not to jump to conclusions until she turned her data and a debit alert popped up on her notification bar:
"Your account number 005xxxx has been debited with N7,440,500,312 to the Dent Crypto account 0xedbfjsbsxxxxxxx"
Upon seeing that, she slumped off to the floor and her phone's screen landed on the floor mercilessly. Luckily for her, the staff that supplies them Afternoon coffee came, knocking, and he saw a lifeless Oyinda on the floor.
He raised an alarm, and she was rushed to the hospital instantly. Revitalisation treatments were admitted to her, and she was brought back to life within some minutes.
She woke up to meet where she stopped, everything unchanged, still unbelievable to her that her dearest lucky has deserted her with all the money in her account. She had no single money on her; the hotel bills were yet to be paid, coupled with the just-added hospital bill.
Where does she start from? The only one that appeared on her mind was her daddy, but this isn't a movie or the Bible story of the prodigal son, so she cried bitterly, knowing that it's totally impossible for her dad to accept a reunion due to the fact that she stole his ever-valued treasure.
Still on the hospital bed, thinking about her life; how to clear off the bills on her neck, and also how to reconcile with her dad, then the door opened, and before her eyes, her dad walked in and rushed to hug her on the bed.
She became totally speechless, with a cloud of tears pouring down her eyes.